EDMONTON – The case of two-Fijian women found to be “sex slaves” at a Chinese run
massage parlour in
Edmonton has been thrown out due to lack of witnesses.
The case, which had touted the first
human trafficking in
Western Canada, was resolved Wednesday with three people pleading guilty to keeping a common
bawdy house. But, as a result of “significant witness issues,” the Crown had to withdraw multiple charges of human trafficking, unlawful confinement and living on the avails of prostitution, said prosecutor Carrie Sharpe.
At the time of the September 2009 raid at a west-end massage parlour and subsequent arrests, police said they had rescued three terrified immigrant women, two from Fiji, forced to perform
sex acts, calling it a case of “modern-day slavery.”
Meifang Chen, 34, Xiu Chen, 40, and Qui Wang, 42, each pleaded guilty in provincial court to one count of keeping a common bawdy house and were all placed on probation for two years.
Court heard the trio had also served between two and three and a half months behind bars in pre-trial custody prior to being granted bail under strict conditions.
Court heard the victims, who police earlier said were from China and Fiji, performed sex acts for money at the Sachi Professional Massage and Spa, 17519 100 Ave.
The women were forced to pay a room rental fee of a minimum of $50 for each sex act, whether it was at the massage parlour or on an outcall basis, which brought in between $1,200 and $2,000 a day to the bawdy house.
One of the rescued victims told police the room rental fees were usually given directly to Meifang Chen, but said she also saw Meifang give the money to Xiu Chen as well.
Sharpe also told court the women were also fined on numerous occasions, ranging from $20 and upwards, for such things as failing to keep the toilets unplugged and not turning off lights and shutting doors.
Court heard ads were placed in Chinese newspapers in Edmonton, Vancouver and
Toronto looking for masseuses and indicating they could earn up to $20,000 a month.
Sharpe said Wang, who was also a
sex trade worker at the spa, acted as the “enforcer” and would watch over the women and enforce the “rules of the house.”
One of the victims, who fled the spa and alerted police, told officers about Wang “assaulting her with a shoe” and saying the beating was because she refused to have sex with a customer who had previously assaulted her and forced her to have sex without using a condom.
Photos were taken of the woman to show the bruising she had near one of her eyes and on other parts of her body.
Defence lawyer Peter Royal said Wang admitted the assault, but not the reasons for it provided by the victim.
Court heard that after the one woman fled the spa on Aug. 4, 2009, and went to police, a surveillance operation was set up on both the massage business and a nearby residence where Meifang Chen was living and Xiu Chen was staying when he was visiting from Toronto.
On Sept. 4, 2009, search warrants were carried out at both places and the two Chens were arrested by police as they were leaving the spa, court heard.
Police seized about $4,000 in cash from Meifang Chen as well as ledgers documenting sex acts done for money. Another $12,500 in cash and several pages of similar ledger accounting consistent with the sex trade business was found during a search of her residence.
Inside the massage spa, police found four female sex trade workers, including Wang, and various items typically used in the sex trade business.
At the time of the 2009 raids and arrest, Edmonton police Det. Dave Schening spoke of how the victims, who spoke almost no English, were terrified.
He said the women’s identification was taken from them by their captors and the women were threatened that, if they didn’t do as they were told, their families would be told that they were prostitutes.
Schening said they lived at the massage parlour, and were expected to service clients 24 hours a day. “They ate, drank and slept in the room they worked in.”
They weren’t beaten, tied up or physically harmed, he said, adding the terror of shame was enough to keep the women, who were “very traditional” and “honour-oriented,” in line.
Anjani Lata, a member of Edmonton’s Fijian community, understands the power of emotional enslavement.
“If I was in that situation, I’d probably do the same thing,” she said.
“If people thought you had (willingly) become a prostitute, you could never go home. It would be a big, big deal.”
Young Fijian women are very sheltered and innocent, Lata explained, and would be easy prey for manipulative predators.
“And then you come to a city where you don’t know anyone and don’t speak English, who are you going to tell?”
